hydrogen peroxide can be used to disinfect and clean surfaces around the home. it breaks down over time into…
hydrogen peroxide can be used to disinfect and clean surfaces around the home. it breaks down over time into oxygen gas and water. consider the following reaction: some amount of hydrogen peroxide (h2o2) breaks down to produce 6 molecules of oxygen (o2) and 12 molecules of water (h2o). complete the table below. chemical element number of atoms in the reaction h o during this reaction, how many molecules of hydrogen peroxide (h2o2) react?
Answer
Explanation:
Step1: Calculate number of H - atoms
Each water molecule ($H_2O$) has 2 hydrogen atoms. There are 12 water molecules. So the number of hydrogen atoms from water is $2\times12 = 24$. Since hydrogen peroxide is the only source of hydrogen in the reaction, the number of hydrogen atoms in the reaction is 24.
Step2: Calculate number of O - atoms
Each oxygen molecule ($O_2$) has 2 oxygen atoms, so 6 oxygen molecules have $2\times6=12$ oxygen atoms. Each water molecule ($H_2O$) has 1 oxygen atom, so 12 water molecules have 12 oxygen atoms. The total number of oxygen atoms is $12 + 12=24$.
Step3: Determine number of $H_2O_2$ molecules
The decomposition of hydrogen peroxide is $2H_2O_2\rightarrow2H_2O + O_2$. The ratio of $H_2O_2$ to $O_2$ is 2:1. Since 6 molecules of $O_2$ are produced, the number of $H_2O_2$ molecules that react is $2\times6 = 12$.
Answer:
| Chemical element | Number of atoms in the reaction |
|---|---|
| H | 24 |
| O | 24 |
| 12 |